Suits & Style: Talking Early Fashion Memories and Tom Ford With the Cast of Suits

If you’re not watching the legal drama Suits yet, you’re missing out. Each episode packs an hour’s worth of office romance, law firm drama and, of course, the perfectly-pressed menswear for which the series is named. Oh, and the fact that the two male leads happen to be really, really, ridiculously good-looking also helps.

Last night, I joined the cast of the USA show, the dapper dudes from Mr. Porter and some smartly-suited male models to celebrate the series’ second-season premiere on NYC’s High Line. In between chatting up the cast and getting a sneak peek at Season 2, we were treated to a runway show styled by Mr. Porter’s team. And despite the pouring rain, Suits‘ stars were happy to share their earliest menswear memories.

"When I was eight years old, I was nominated for a Youth in Film Award," said Gabriel Macht, who plays straight-talking closer Harvey Specter. "It was for this movie called Why Would I Lie that I did with Treat Williams. I was nominated for Best Actor that year—along with Ricky Schroder, not bad company!—so I rented a tux. I didn’t end up winning, but hey—it was my first tuxedo."

Patrick J. Adams, on the other hand, who plays brilliant lawyer-without-a-law-degree Mike Ross, had to purchase his first suit for a familiar teenage rite of passage. "For my high school prom," he told me, "I went and got a suit tailored by my stepdad’s sketchy Armenian suitmaker in northern Toronto. I got a three-piece suit and wore all black: black shirt, black tie, black everything—and thought it’d be the coolest thing ever. Now, I look at pictures and it’s mortifying…but I still have that suit!"

He may not wear ill-advised monochromatic ensembles anymore, but Adams says playing a well-dressed professional onscreen has changed his entire outlook on style. "I used to think that fashion was something that hoity-toity people worried about," he laughed. "But as I’ve gotten older, and now working on this show, I realize you can still be a citizen of the world and be concerned about fashion. It’s artistic, it’s a form of expression. I’m beginning to spend a little more money on clothes now, because I realize they’ll last longer if I do."

Meanwhile, Macht, who describes his Suits alter ego as "Cary Grant meets Steve McQueen," is no stranger to the art of dressing well. "I think I’ve been known to wear a three-piece suit from time to time," he confessed. And while unlike Harvey Specter, he prefers "playing it vintage" to dressing in head-to-toe designer names, he does appreciate great labels. I’d heard a rumor his character wore only Tom Ford suits onscreen, for instance—which he quickly verified for me. "All of last season, and for the first half of this one, it was all Tom Ford. I think his clothes are intelligent and romantic…and they’re very ‘presentational,’ which works well for the character of Harvey. Tom Ford’s just total sophistication, and that helps Harvey close his deals."

Click through the slideshow to read my Q&As with the female cast of Suits. And be sure to catch the season premiere tomorrow at 10 pm/9c on USA!